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I just realized that my kids go back to school in 2 weeks. That makes me kind of sad because this has been a good, relaxing summer…I’m not ready for them to go back to school and begin the frenzy that August through October brings. I’ve really gotten used to our easy-going days and hate to see them go.

I love it! I love that it reminds me to move every hour and I love that it celebrates when I hit 10k steps (which I have done for the last 3 days – woo!). On Monday, it had been a really long, frustrating day but I came home to find this in the driveway:

I’m going to miss things like this when she gets older!

and I knew I wanted to hit my 10k steps but I was only at 6500 for the day. I had told my little chalk artist that I was going to try, and so I got my book and got on my treadmill. I lasted all of 15 minutes before the boredom wore me down. About the time I was shutting down the treadmill, she came out and asked what I was doing, and I told her that hitting my steps probably wasn’t going to happen. She gave me a pointed look and just said “Mom.”…so I said “what?” and she replied “Mom…you can get 10k steps…you can.” I told her that yeah I probably could but I wasn’t going to do it in that hot garage on treadmill, so I just decided to walk around my driveway until I hit my step goal. And it was actually kind of nice! By this time it was dark, and the cicadas and the crickets were chirping and it was not exactly cool, but it wasn’t blistering hot either and there was a nice breeze. I walked up my driveway, back down again, and around the circle drive and I did that for 30 minutes. I decided to get my last 500 steps inside, so I could cool down a little and when I finally hit my step goal, I did a happy dance.

Yesterday, I decided that I really wanted to get to my park and walk so, heat be damned, I got my water bottle and headed to the trail after work. It was a cool 95 degrees (at least it wasn’t 103 like it has been for several days now – sad when 95 degrees feels “not as hot”!!) and there was a nice breeze blowing from the lake, and because it was so hot there weren’t many people there. It was blissfully QUIET with only the cicadas singing their song. Restorative, is what it was. I walked for about 35 minutes and didn’t die, and honestly the heat didn’t bother nearly as much as I thought it would. I’ve got my gear and my plan is to get out there again today because I enjoyed it so much yesterday.

What I’ve learned this week is that I am highly motivated by the validation I get from my Fitbit buzzing at me and displaying fireworks when I hit my step goal. And that hitting my step goal doesn’t take the Herculean effort that I have always thought it would – yes it takes a little bit of planning and effort, but it is totally doable, even for someone like me who sits behind a desk for the majority of the day.

Normally, I eat scrambled eggs for breakfast but when it’s this freaking hot:

that’s not the heat index, that’s the actual degrees of hell we will be having today. The heat index is something like 109. I just can’t with this heat.

I tend to go for something cold. Last summer was the Summer of the Smoothie, but this summer I’ve been leaning towards cereal and milk. Not the sugar cereals of my youth, but the boring grown up version of cereal: muesli…and I LOVE IT. If you like overnight oats, you might like muesli as well. My favorite way to eat it is with a sprinkle of berries and some milk, then let it sit for 10 minutes to an hour (I sometimes will prepare it, then take it to work with me and eat it there). It fills me up and I’m sure you could add any number of things to it to dress it up, but mostly I just like it plain-jane.

Speaking of the heat, it is making me cranky. One of my favorite things to do is to go for a walk after work in the park, but being the wuss that I am, I’m not going to chance a heat stroke. Oh! And I have to go to a wedding tomorrow afternoon and I *think* it’s an outdoor wedding – it’ll be under a pavilion but still…no air conditioning. When you sweat as much as I do, trying to look pretty at an outdoor affair is futile. I’m so ready for cooler weather…which won’t be around for another couple of months…so I guess I should just suck it up, Buttercup.

And speaking of cranky, just this morning I found a new app that might help me get my Zen on…it’s called the Meditation Game and the object of the game is to collect little energy dots while you float through space. A guided meditation reminds you to breathe while you are collecting the energy dots, all while soothing music plays in the background. I only played one round (it took about ten minutes), but I did feel better afterwards. This would be good for those times when you have a few moments to kill while in a waiting room, or if you have a big meeting that you are nervous about, or if you need help winding down at night. If meditating is on your list of things to try, but you’re not a big fan of just sitting there doing nothing, this is a good way to get started.

Between the heat and my allergies, I find that in the last week I swing between not giving a sh*t about anything and being ticked off that I can’t do what I want, like walking after work or travelling to Europe. I make little effort with hair and makeup, I find it hard to get motivated to get my work done (but I always get it done somehow), and I all I want to do is sit and read a book without being interrupted every ten minutes. Guess I need to spend more time playing that meditation game, huh? Not sure if I need my meds adjusted or I just need to get over myself. Or maybe I just need to find some water and a floatie and a nice cool beverage and check out for a few hours. I think I need…something…just not sure what yet. I’ll figure it out… I always do.

Update: the wedding is inside!!!!!! I called the Bride’s mom to verify and it is indeed indoors in the AC. THANK YOU SWEET BABY JESUS!

Just kidding, but I did meet a small goal I had set for myself in the spring. My company’s insurance has a nifty plan that lets you earn points for various activities which can then be redeemed for rewards. In about March, I noticed I already had quite a few points racked up and so I decided that I would make it my goal to earn enough points for a Fitbit Charge 2 tracker. I figured that if I consistently earned a certain number of points per week, I should have enough to get the Fitbit by the end of the summer. I had already planned on buying one (because my trusty Fitbit One is in her golden years and I fear is nearing the end of her time) but I figured why spend my own money when I could just be a little patient and get one for FREE!

So for the last few months, I’ve been diligently checking in and watching my points inch closer and and closer to the goal. Today when I checked on my future prize, I noticed the number of points required to purchase the Charge2 had gone down by 14%! I did some maths and realized that even if I didn’t have enough points, I could just pay the difference with actual monies and have my reward even sooner. I put that baby in my cart and proceeded to check out – I spent all of my points plus a whole $14.58 of my own dollars. Totally worth it to me! Sure, I could have waited another 4 or 5 weeks and gotten it completely for free, but darn it, I didn’t want to wait any longer! I’m happy to say that my new toy will be here soon.

One problem I might have…I already have a watch that I like to wear on my left wrist, so I’m wondering if I should just wear the Fitbit on my other wrist or what? Not sure what to do but I’ll figure something out. Anyone have any ingenious ideas?

What’s the worst thing about being back at work after vacation? Pants.

Especially when your knees look like this:

These legs haven’t seen the light of day for years, as evidenced by the fact that it took 3.2 seconds to burn.

and when you’ve gotten used to running around in shorts, which is why I’m wearing a skirt today. Believe it or not, I wore a ton of sunscreen but I waited 15 minutes too long one day…a mistake I shall not make again.

So, so crispy. Ouch.

We had a nice vacation on the lake, and for the first time in a long time, I actually felt like I got to really relaaaaaax on vacation. A lot of times, when you’re the mom, a vacation isn’t really a vacation – it’s all the same mom-duties in a different place, but this year my kids (my youngest especially) are old enough that they don’t need my constant attention so I was able to just…be. I spent hours simply bobbing up and down on my floatie on the water…it was bliss! One evening we took the boat out on the water and watched the sun set as we floated along – it was perfect.

One thing I noticed that was different about this vacation than vacations of yore – I didn’t eat my way through the whole week. Typically, during the down times I would eat out of boredom or just because I could, but this time I pretty much stuck to 3 meals and maybe one snack – we spent most of our time on the water and when we were back in the RV, I was just chilling or reading. For the first time in probably ever, I didn’t feel the need to fill my time with food. Quite frankly, I’m astonished. Pleased and astonished.

Also, according to my Fitbit and my phone’s health app, I was much more active this week than usual (which of course, because usually I’m sitting behind a desk for 40 hours a week). We went on a 6 mile float trip one day, lots of swimming, some hiking, and on the day it rained, we hit a mall and shopped for 4.5 hours, so yeah…much more activity than usual.

And also, being who I am, there were plenty of naps. Glorious, wonderful, naps.

I would love to keep my active streak going, but when you live in the devil’s oven (thanks Oklahoma heat & humidity!) being outside is painful – it’s hot and sweaty and hard to breathe and just not a fun time at all*, so I’m going to have to figure out a way to get my activity done indoors. YouTube and DVDs will probably be the way to go until this heat breaks.

For your viewing pleasure, here are a few pics from said vacation because who doesn’t love seeing pictures from other people’s vacations??? *snicker*

Taking a break from rafting to dip in the river. This water was cold!

Husband, son, and I.

Rare sighting of my girls actually getting along.

*my landscaper-husband is most likely shaking his head and calling me a wuss right now. He spends approximately 800 hours outside in this heat every day. Ugh.

I’ve been doing a little experimenting with my food lately…actually I guess you could say I’m just actually paying attention to my food and how it makes me feel. I’m trying to figure out which foods make me feel great and which foods make me feel meh.

One day for breakfast I had eggs, asparagus, peppers & onions, with some avocado and strawberries on the side and it kept me full for HOURS. It was so flavorful and super satisfying, and I felt great for the rest of the morning while I ran errands.

I am not a food blogger…don’t judge my ridiculous photo skillz.

The next day I made bacon and egg biscuit sandwich (homemade) because my guys were working outside in the yard and they needed something portable and quick to eat. This was okay, and while it was delicious, I noticed I wasn’t terribly satisfied – like I wanted something more to go with it. So this one was just “meh” (No picture because again, I’m not a food blogger and rarely think to photograph my meals)

One day I made french toast for the family and had mine with lemon curd and raspberry jam. It was DELICIOUS but it didn’t last me very long. I found myself perusing the pantry about an hour later. This isn’t a meal that I have very often but I think next time I’ll add some scrambled eggs on the side to give it a little more staying power.

I’ve been really disappointed by jarred pasta sauce lately so I decided to make some of my own and I was surprised at how incredibly easy it was to make a rich thick sauce. I used this recipe (which is actually a sauce for pizza but I used it on pasta because I DO WHAT I WANT) and kinda messed it up at first by adding too much sugar but did you know that adding lemon juice can neutralize the sweetness? I added the juice of one fresh lemon and let it sit for a bit and then achieved perfect sauce nirvana. It was so good and I was so impressed with myself and at the same I felt duped by Big Food for keeping it a secret how ridiculously easy it is to make your own sauce. I seriously may never buy pasta sauce from a jar ever again EVER. With my new homemade pasta sauce I made spaghetti & meatballs and it was excellent!! I did remember to take a pic this time:

It may not look like much, but trust me, it was goooood.

Meatballs made with grassfed beef. No those are not whole wheat spaghetti noodles because whole wheat pasta tastes like disappointment and I love myself too much to eat that nonsense.

This meal was eaten early in the evening and it kept me full until bedtime. I think I also had some roasted broccoli with it too, but I don’t really remember now.

Speaking of roasted broccoli, sometimes I’ll make that just for a snack because if you do it right, it gets charred just enough to taste like a french fry. Or at least similar to a french fry, anyway. Yum.

Last night for our anniversary we went to Charleston’s and I had the chicken picata with a side of steamed brussel sprouts. The brussel sprouts weren’t very good so I only ate a couple of those (I usually love brussel sprouts but these just were not doing it for me), and I ate about 3/4 of my chicken picata. I made sure to pay attention to when I was getting full and I stopped before I got too full, so I walked out of the restaurant feeling good…not gross and bloated. Oh, and a side note…I found my new favorite cocktail there last night:

I don’t drink very often but when I do, this will be my new go-to. It’s called a French 75 or sometimes it’s referred to as a 75 Cocktail. Basically it’s prosecco, gin, simple syrup, and lemon juice and it is light and crisp and perfect for summer. I had only one of these and it was exactly what I was looking for.

So basically what I’ve learned over the last couple of weeks is that if I really think about what I want, slow down and pay attention to my meals, and include some good protein and vegetables and a little fruit, I will be satisfied and full for a long time. The more satisfied I am with my food, the less I think about food which means I don’t spend tons of time looking for food to fill me up (I’m thinking about those time when I used to burn a trail into my kitchen tiles going from the fridge to the pantry and back again just hoping something would magically appear that I wanted to eat). This may sound elementary to some, but when you’ve spent pretty well your whole life NOT paying attention to the food you’re stuffing down your gullet, it’s pretty interesting once you do.

At this time, 21 years ago today, I was on my way to the hair salon to get my hair done for my wedding. It was a whirlwind romance, and on this particular morning I was letting myself feel the things I had been too busy to let myself feel…such as, is this the right thing to do? Have we rushed into this? What if things don’t work out???? And then as if by Divine Providence, I turned on the radio and this is the song that came on:

I smiled and sang along (I will never not sing along to the radio) and trusted that God had this and things would be okay. And yeah, there have been some ups and downs but we’ve managed to keep it together for 21 years with a lot of stubborn tenacity and a willingness to just let the annoying things go sometimes.

He makes me laugh, he keeps me safe, he sees the potential in me when I can’t…for better or for worse, he’s my lobster.

As weird as it was to have a day off in the middle of the week, it actually turned out to be a pretty good day. I finished reading a book (Who Do You Love by Jennifer Weiner – loved it!), piddled around the house, went on a nature walk with my son,

Disapproving Deer disapproves of your shenanigans.

took an extra long shower, went and bought fireworks, watched my husband grill up some burgers and dogs, then sat in my driveway with the neighbors and watched my daughter and my husband shoot fireworks. My neighbors across the street spent the big bucks and got some seriously cool fireworks. I bought the family pack. Here’s the comparison:

I mean clearly, ours were better. *snicker*

It was a fun evening that ended way later than my bedtime and so naturally today I am dragging my tail. I needed the day off today more than I needed it off yesterday. (Note to self: next year, take a vacation day on July 5th) A little more coffee and I should be fine though. 🙂